Your Most Hated Fan Base

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Iceland12 said:
Horrible situation, but there, fixed the part that is usually left out. By the way, Witte who went on to be an ordained minister and Behagen became quite close friends, and Witte has discussed both his part in starting the brawl and tOSU Coach's part in helping to create the atmosphere for the trouble.

No "winners" in that situation, but it's interesting to see how most of the Media has spun things.
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Absolutely agree with that sentiment. I just feel it shows we all have our moments...
 

maroonedinCA said:
We're the same.
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If you look at all the "Worst/ Most Hated Fanbases" stories/polls of Big Ten fans that statement is hardly true. Wisconsin and iowa, bless their souls, come out very badly in nearly every instance. Stories, anecdotal to be sure, from Non-Conference teams also seem to support that.

Oh and yeah, youth and alcohol consumption of the respective fanbases have a LOT to do with it IMHO. :drink:
 

Iceland12 said:
If you look at all the "Worst/ Most Hated Fanbases" stories/polls of Big Ten fans that statement is hardly true.
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Agreed, but I also think that has a lot to do with the fact that those lists also seem to replicate the traditional standings and not some ingrained character flaw. The lists are generally OSU, Wisco, PSU, etc. Those teams have also had arguably the most success over the past two decades in the conference. That success breeds an exhuberant atmosphere with alcohol involved and simply more people which leads to worse situations. Any time drunk masses gather, bad things happen. We've been 'fortunate' in this regard because our level of play over the past two decades has developed the opposite, as sort of passive attitude toward the team and thus not an event people are excited about and come en masse.
 

maroonedinCA said:
Agreed, but I also think that has a lot to do with the fact that those lists also seem to replicate the traditional standings and not some ingrained character flaw. The lists are generally OSU, Wisco, PSU, etc. Those teams have also had arguably the most success over the past two decades in the conference. That success breeds an exhuberant atmosphere with alcohol involved and simply more people which leads to worse situations. Any time drunk masses gather, bad things happen. We've been 'fortunate' in this regard because our level of play over the past two decades has developed the opposite, as sort of passive attitude toward the team and thus not an event people are excited about and come en masse.
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Getting off topic maybe but while success would be the key it seems to be the case that it's just not true. MI, NE and PSU very, very seldom come out badly in these polls why WI and IA ALWAY do. tOSU which under that theory should ALWAYS come out on the bottom, quite often does not.

IA, WI and MN populations are, as you said very similar. The people who go to games are not.
 

Iceland12 said:
Getting off topic maybe but while success would be the key it seems to be the case that it's just not true. MI, NE and PSU very, very seldom come out badly in these polls why WI and IA ALWAY do. tOSU which under that theory should ALWAYS come out on the bottom, quite often does not.

IA, WI and MN populations are, as you said very similar. The people who go to games are not.
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Ok, I guess I'll take your word for it. I've never been to an IA game so I guess I can't speak to them but I was at the last UM-UW game in Madison with some buddies and have been there two other times and never had an issue. Anecdotal, to be sure as well.

Regardless, I'll take a-hole fans if the Gophers can replicate the gameday atmospheres of either of those two cities.
 


Section2 said:
Would replace ndsu with Michigan. Michigan fans have been by far the most arrogant I've encountered aside from wi and ia. Compared to all the other powers like neb, psu, OSU, etc, Michigan is a class of doosh by itself. Want to beat them almost more than any other. Very close with wisco, and we've beaten Iowa enough lately so I want Michigan.
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I don't follow this logic at all. Are Michigan fans arrogant? Many I've encountered indeed are (though I've met plenty who are not), but why shouldn't they be. They are the all-time winningest football program of all-time. They have one of the most recognizable helmet/uniforms in all of sport. They have one of the most well-know fight songs in college. They have 42 Big Ten titles and 11 National titles for crying out loud! Despite the Rich Rod Era, and the so-far milquetoast Hoke tenure, if any Big Ten team deserves the right to be arrogant, its a long-time Michigan fan.

Badger fans I've run across are every bit as arrogant as Michigan fans, with basically a fraction of the total resume.
 

We probably all have stories of idiot fans representing the various teams.
As a whole, the worst groups I've encountered in the Dome and TCF have been Ohio State's, and it's not even close.
None compare to the Vikings, however. They are the worst I've seen in any sport.
 

Iceland12 said:
If you look at all the "Worst/ Most Hated Fanbases" stories/polls of Big Ten fans that statement is hardly true. Wisconsin and iowa, bless their souls, come out very badly in nearly every instance. Stories, anecdotal to be sure, from Non-Conference teams also seem to support that.

Oh and yeah, youth and alcohol consumption of the respective fanbases have a LOT to do with it IMHO. :drink:
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Which poll? The only difference is winning. People hate tOSU, UM, now MSU, Iowa, and UW as of late because they are "obnoxious" which means their fans show up and some are over zealous. Not like that wouldn't happen here with more winning. Hell, I remember the student section terrorizing some Badger fans at the 2005 game before the blocked punt.
 

Gopher Bandanna Guy said:
I don't follow this logic at all. Are Michigan fans arrogant? Many I've encountered indeed are (though I've met plenty who are not), but why shouldn't they be. They are the all-time winningest football program of all-time. They have one of the most recognizable helmet/uniforms in all of sport. They have one of the most well-know fight songs in college. They have 42 Big Ten titles and 11 National titles for crying out loud! Despite the Rich Rod Era, and the so-far milquetoast Hoke tenure, if any Big Ten team deserves the right to be arrogant, its a long-time Michigan fan.

Badger fans I've run across are every bit as arrogant as Michigan fans, with basically a fraction of the total resume.
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That argument runs a bit dry, though. You're telling me if the Vikings won their first Super Bowl you wouldn't rip Packer and Bear fans to shreds? Or maybe not you, but many fans would. Would you agree to quiet down on the basis that the Vikings haven't won nearly as much over the course of history?

Maybe to make it apples to apples, the Vikings get to the NFC Championship with a thumping of GB.

How long do we want to pan back history? Wisky is at 20+ years of being good now. I get that they don't have some glorious past but that's what annoys me as a fan that many bad eggs in our group sounds whiney trying to tell them to quiet down for cheering reasonably good success because it's, "not more than 20 years of it."

About the only thing I'll say is some of their younger fans don't know how good they have it.
 



maroonedinCA said:
Regardless, I'll take a-hole fans if the Gophers can replicate the gameday atmospheres of either of those two cities.
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No, never. I've been to just about every WI and IA away games for the past 20-years. Sure, there are some decent people but I have encountered way too many pricks over the years. I'd rather sit in a half-empty stadium of decent fans than a packed house with a bunch of a-holes.

What I might suggest alternatively is a fan base culture like Nebraska's. I still contend we could have the best "friendly" rivalry in the B1G provided we do our part (i.e., win our share of games, sell out TCF, and treat the Big Red fans with respect the same way they do to us). Let's make it happen!

Go Gophers!
 

I've seen some fellow Gopher fans be assholes to opposing teams, especially UW or Iowa for obvious reasons. If you think our fans would be nice if we had a perennially good team/atmosphere you need to go to Vikings games.

I'll agree that some of the obscenities make UW a little worse when they are at their worst, but we rip their fan bases for "sex with animals" and whatever else because somebody in their state did it. You don't think that sort of vitriol would run out of control if the Gophs sold out most of their games with a great atmosphere? Ever been to Packer/Viking games? It goes both ways in those games.

Maybe you'd be a nice, cordial person but I doubt the masses would.

Do we come from some friendlier genetic pool or something? Half of my friends in college were from Wisconsin originally, and when their friends came up to visit for the games from Madison, were those kids the ones that drank the polluted milk growing up with their classmates that were friends that went to the U were upstanding citizens?
 

MNGoldenGophers1 said:
No, never. I've been to just about every WI and IA away games for the past 20-years. Sure, there are some decent people but I have encountered way too many pricks over the years. I'd rather sit in a half-empty stadium of decent fans than a packed house with a bunch of a-holes.

What I might suggest alternatively is a fan base culture like Nebraska's. I still contend we could have the best "friendly" rivalry in the B1G provided we do our part (i.e., win our share of games, sell out TCF, and treat the Big Red fans with respect the same way they do to us). Let's make it happen!

Go Gophers!
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Rivalries are not built with friendliness... They are built with hatred.. Hence why gopher/badger games are great... Our football team hates the drunk sconies as does our fanbase... I would never want to go see a pleasant wiscy/gopher game
 

Lil Richard 69 said:
That argument runs a bit dry, though. You're telling me if the Vikings won their first Super Bowl you wouldn't rip Packer and Bear fans to shreds? Or maybe not you, but many fans would. Would you agree to quiet down on the basis that the Vikings haven't won nearly as much over the course of history?

Maybe to make it apples to apples, the Vikings get to the NFC Championship with a thumping of GB.

How long do we want to pan back history? Wisky is at 20+ years of being good now. I get that they don't have some glorious past but that's what annoys me as a fan that many bad eggs in our group sounds whiney trying to tell them to quiet down for cheering reasonably good success because it's, "not more than 20 years of it."

About the only thing I'll say is some of their younger fans don't know how good they have it.
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Your point is well taken, and what role does history play in a fan's 'right' to be arrogant is pretty arbitrary, admittedly. Personally, I look at it a little like Major League Baseball. I look at Michigan as sort of an equivalent to the New York Yankees, with a rich, long history of success and winning. A few down years do not tarnish the overall body of work. The last 50 years of Gopher football have unfortunately tarnished the successes of the first half of the program's history, and thus we aren't afforded a chance to boast. But this is all, like, just my opinion. Man.
 



For the record, I don't want to seem like a Badger or Iowa sympathist. Eff them. Just more debunking the theory that we would have some extremely hospitable game experience if we continue to build.
 

I dislike WI more than Iowa, but NOTHING is worse than the Iowa fan base.
 

I hate all other fan bases equally except for the Gophers.
 

I'm not sure who is worse between whiskey and the hogeyes.

I'm not talking about visiting their stadiums. When you go to another stadium you just have to deal with being in "their house", and get over it.

But when I was in school (and many years afterwards), we would usually be downtown after the games. When there was a group of either fan-base in the bars, you just knew there would be trouble. Both fan-bases are filled with a bunch of bad drunks who don't know how to comport themselves as a visitor.
 

Lil Richard 69 said:
For the record, I don't want to seem like a Badger or Iowa sympathist. Eff them. Just more debunking the theory that we would have some extremely hospitable game experience if we continue to build.
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Gees, they didn't put in breathalyzers at Camp Randall because there WASN'T a problem there. Their President didn't issue public apologies to visitors because there wasn't a problem. Do a little more research. Check and see what visiting teams, those that won or lost, have said about the various schools. The age and relative sobriety of the fanbases has a whole lot to do with it. The point about how often a team wins of course also factors into it but after you look around you'll find out that WI and IA just have lousy reps for the way they treat visiting fans.

If we're just going to be anecdotal, I've made the trip to Camp Randall too and not for a Badger/Gopher game. Sitting in good seats and with Badger fans. They apologized for the behavior of their students when the "Eat Shat/Get F*-ed" chant started, but it wasn't they ONLY time they had to say they were sorry for other Badger fans.
 

If I had to rank them as most annoying to least annoying (can't say I really "hate" them) based on my own personal experiences with fans from those teams (I'll include hockey here too):
1 (by a landslide): Wisconsin. I won't ever go back to Madison after how we were treated there.
2. North Dakota: Just plain trashy.
3. NDSU. What can I say, it seems like every Bison fan I run into is annoying.
4. Iowa: I know many people have a strong dislike for Iowa fans, but I can't say I've had any awful run-ins with Iowa fans. Worst is some overly drunken fans, but they minded their own business.
5. UMD Hockey
 

Iceland12 said:
Gees, they didn't put in breathalyzers at Camp Randall because there WASN'T a problem there. Their President didn't issue public apologies to visitors because there wasn't a problem. Do a little more research. Check and see what visiting teams, those that won or lost, have said about the various schools. The age and relative sobriety of the fanbases has a whole lot to do with it. The point about how often a team wins of course also factors into it but after you look around you'll find out that WI and IA just have lousy reps for the way they treat visiting fans.

If we're just going to be anecdotal, I've made the trip to Camp Randall too and not for a Badger/Gopher game. Sitting in good seats and with Badger fans. They apologized for the behavior of their students when the "Eat Shat/Get F*-ed" chant started, but it wasn't they ONLY time they had to say they were sorry for other Badger fans.
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The UW friends of my roommates got shredded by Gopher fans. It happens. I don't do it, but it happens. In fact, we are all telling a group of strangers to get bent on this forum right now. I have a feeling that it would come out in person from some fans after a few drinks.

Conversely, I got nothing more than a hard time in Madison for wearing my maroon and gold. I'm sure as many others are saying, it can be worse there, but I have personally seen my own fanbase be just as rude. A lot of my high school friends were Badgers. Unless they get drugged there they are no more irrational than my UMD, U of M, ITT Tech, etc. friends from when I knew them growing up.
 

Wisconsin "students" are the worst.

I've had good times with older Wisconsin fans. I've had good times with older Iowa fans as well.

North Dakota: Both fanbases rip on each other, but deep down, I think there's a mutual respect for each other's program.

NDSU: They're so little & cute!
 

Lil Richard 69 said:
The UW friends of my roommates got shredded by Gopher fans. It happens. I don't do it, but it happens. In fact, we are all telling a group of strangers to get bent on this forum right now. I have a feeling that it would come out in person from some fans after a few drinks.

Conversely, I got nothing more than a hard time in Madison for wearing my maroon and gold. I'm sure as many others are saying, it can be worse there, but I have personally seen my own fanbase be just as rude. A lot of my high school friends were Badgers. Unless they get drugged there they are no more irrational than my UMD, U of M, ITT Tech, etc. friends.
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I think Wisconsin fans have much more arrogance and thus feel the need to harass Gopher fans more. Team that with a higher level of overall intoxication (and I'm guessing a much larger student section) and it leads to them treating people worse. I'm fine with a little good-natured ribbing (get that a lot on hockey road trips) but when it comes to physical threats, you've gone too far. Only place I've ever seen it is Madison.

I haven't had a problem at all with the non-student Badger fans sitting by me at TCF, but enter Madison at your own risk.
 

Sure, success and therefore intoxication make them worse. No argument there. We are not immune. See: Dinkytown after loss to Union, Spring Jams of past, etc.

Our school drinks, too. Just less interest at games right now because the team has been down for a while.
 

There, you can even cherry pick some good comments out of those links too. They need to get a handle on the drinking problem at Camp Randall, not their "winning" problem.

"Vile language in such a setting is sparked by a number of things — often alcohol — said Toben Nelson, a Minnesota assistant professor who has researched the use of alcohol at sporting events. "Students who are drinking heavily are more likely to act out, particularly when they're in a large group and close quarters like a football stadium. It's almost a law of nature."

Nebraska:

http://www.huskerboard.com/index.php?/topic/54831-madison-experience/

Wisconsin Admin:

http://www.wkow.com/story/15691026/uw-asks-students-to-end-vulgar-chants

Worst Fans in College Football:

http://www.footballnation.com/content/worst-fans-college-football/13197/

!0 Worst Places for Visiting Fans:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1227396-college-football-rankings-10-worst-stadiums-for-away-fans-to-visit/page/9
 

stuck_in_scony_go4_fan said:
Rivalries are not built with friendliness... They are built with hatred.. Hence why gopher/badger games are great... Our football team hates the drunk sconies as does our fanbase... I would never want to go see a pleasant wiscy/gopher game
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You must never have played any sports in your life. I happen to have participated in one where it was fair play to maim your opponent if they did not submit in time. There were plenty of rivalries but very few based on hating each other. In fact, my experience was just the opposite where many rivals developed into friendships or, at a minimum, a mutual respect for one another.

WI and IA will always be based on hatred and I'm OK with that (I'm a big time proponent of HATE WEEK and F' anything related to the skunks. However, that does not need to be the case for other rivals. Nebraska is a golden opportunity to have an intense but friendly rivalry. Most other schools hate WI and IA too, it's not just because we are rivals.
 

Who'd a thunk it? A bunch of top college teams have passionate fans that get drunk, according to a Bleacher Report guy. The revered Penn State fanbase is on there.

By the way, I've been in the Badger student section and that breathylizer thing is not true. They are available, but not an entry pass into the game.
 

Lil Richard 69 said:
Who'd a thunk it? A bunch of top college teams have passionate fans that get drunk, according to a Bleacher Report guy. The revered Penn State fanbase is on there.

By the way, I've been in the Badger student section and that breathylizer thing is not true. They are available, but not an entry pass into the game.
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Hit that one on the head didn't I. Said you'd cherry pick out of out the info and try to find something that justifies your Badger troll status. Good for you! No, the breathalyzer "thing" is very true. It's used for people who have been previous pinched for being boneheaded drunks of which apparently Camp Randall authorities are to familiar with. Noticed how you tried to spin it to make it look like somebody said that ALL Badger fans have to use it. Understandable when you have nothing else to stand on.

Every time the problem about the booze and vulgar students at Camp Randall come up, Badger trolls come on over to say how it's not true and how magnificent winning programs like LSU, ALA, PSU, tOSU and ​Wisconsin? are always getting tarred and feathered because of their success, not because of their many d-bags fans.

The other Big Ten boards put up with the same thing. Good thing it's a "down period".

This time we only have t put up with you. :D
 

I'm not trying to troll. I have a lot of Badger and Iowa fan friends and I get annoyed about our fanbase thinking it is/could be much better than those groups. Sorry, half of my friends went to UW or Iowa or come from those states, I just get annoyed having to listen to the same tired idea that somehow our fanbase, cut from the same cloth of people (note that there is crossover of WI residents at the U, Viking fans in Iowa, etc.) is somehow morally superior. Go over to a dorm in Madison on Sunday and I'll bet that same "asshole" from Saturday is your best friend decked out in purple.

Yes, I agree that there is a vast cesspool of drunkenness and annoying banter in Iowa City and Madison.

When we become a good team, I don't want to have the finger pointed back when our fans are "arrogant" by cheering for their team and having drunk college kids show up at a college football game.
 

"People who are obviously intoxicated at the gate will not be allowed into the stadium. A ticket is a revocable license," Larson said.

Night games do tend to be more problematic, he said. The last time the Badgers hosted a night game - kickoff for the Michigan game in 2005 was 5 p.m. - 69 citations were issued (58 to UW-Madison students), 60 were arrested (58 were UW-Madison students) and there were 114 ejections (including 77 UW-Madison students).

"That is high," Larson said.

By contrast, the Washington State game on Sept. 1 - which had a 2:30 p.m. kickoff - resulted in 14 citations (four to UW-Madison students), 13 arrests (four were UW-Madison students) and 26 were ejected (14 were UW-Madison students).

As an additional deterrent to bad behavior, a season ticket revocation policy is in force again this year.

Patterned after a policy followed by the Green Bay Packers, Badger fans may lose their season tickets for the remainder of the season if they - or anyone using their tickets - engages in unruly or illegal conduct.

Behavior that crosses the line includes being taken to a health-care or detoxification facility by a police officer for incapacitation due to excessive drunkeness or use of illegal drugs; violent or indecent behavior including throwing hard objects, public urination or resisting arrest or obstruction; or arrest for any violation of the Wisconsin Criminal Code.


Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/breath...109-59ee-b7e4-7ea86f802749.html#ixzz37qtx86mG
 

Lil Richard 69 said:
I'm not trying to troll. I have a lot of Badger and Iowa fan friends and I get annoyed about our fanbase thinking it is/could be much better than those groups. Sorry, half of my friends went to UW or Iowa or come from those states, I just get annoyed having to listen to the same tired idea that somehow our fanbase, cut from the same cloth of people (note that there is crossover of WI residents at the U, Viking fans in Iowa, etc.) is somehow morally superior.

Yes, I agree that there is a vast cesspool of drunkenness and annoying banter in Iowa City and Madison.

When we become a good team, I don't want to have the finger pointed back when our fans are "arrogant" by cheering for their team and having drunk college kids show up at a college football game.
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That's all pretty reasonable except for ignoring something that Madison officials and other Big Ten fan bases have consistently said. The Badgers have a fan drinking problem, not a "cheering problem" and they need to get a handle on it.

Maybe they will this season. Hope they do but a "head in the sand" or "it happens everywhere" approach just won't get it done.
 

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